Pivotable support for a door or analogous swingable element

ABSTRACT

A stationary tubular guide member has a upwardly directed open end and a vertically oriented longitudinal axis. A pivot pin has an upper portion projecting above the open end for engaging and supporting a swingable element, an intermediate portion between the upper portion and the open end, and a lower portion located within the guide member with limited freedom of axial displacement therein. A retaining pin prevents the pivot pin from turning with reference to the guide member. A downwardly open cap surrounds with its upper section the intermediate portion of the pin and with its lower section the guide member. Cooperating screw threads on the intermediate portion of the pin and on the upper section of the cap permit rotation of the latter with reference to the pin with a concomitant axial displacement of the latter relative to the guide member.

United States Patent Jentsch Mar. 28, 1972 54] PIVOTABLE SUPPORT FOR A DOOR 3,137,891 6/1964 Rudnick ..l6/l5l OR ANALOGOUS SWINGABLE P E B bb R G rzmary xammero y ay ELEMENT Assistant ExaminerDoris L. Troutman [72] inventor: Dietrich Jentsch, Ennepetal-Voerde, Ger- AIl0m8yMiha1S-Striker many [57] ABSTRACT [73] Assignee: Dorken & Mankel KG, Ennepetal-Voerde,

Germany A stationary tubular guide member has a upwardly directed open end and a vertically oriented longitudinal axis. A pivot Filedl 3, 1970 pin has an upper portion projecting above the open end for engaging and supporting a swingable element, an intermediate [21] Appl' 79148 portion between the upper portion and the open end, and a lower portion located within the guide member with limited [30] Foreign Application Priority Data freedom of axial displacement therein. A retaining pin prevents the pivot pin from turning with reference to the guide Oct. 17, Germany ..P 19 52 member. A downwardly p p surrounds with its pp r section the intermediate portion of the pin and with its lower [52] US. Cl ..l6/l34 section the guide memben Cooperating screw threads on the [5 l Int. Cl ..E05d 2/04 intermediate portion f the pin and on the upper Section f the 0f Search 1 05, 1 cap permit rotation of the latter reference to the 1 407 a concomitant axial displacement of the latter relative to the guide member. [56] References Cited 10 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,588,258 3/1952 Lowman ..l6/l32 FECM Patented arch 28, 1972 M 22 L17 @H FEGB 7 FIG. 2

INVENTOR mew m H TEA/TE! PIVOTABLE SUPPORT FOR A DOOR OR ANALOGOUS SWINGABLE ELEMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to pivotal supports, and more particularly to pivotal Supports serving as a hinge for use at the bottom of a door or analogous swingable element.

Pivotal supports used for such purposes are already known. They are employed when other types of hinges cannot or are not desired to be used, and they cooperate with a socket provided in the downwardly directed bottom edge face of the door or other swingable element, in which an upwardly facing end portion of a pivot pin of the support is received so that the element can pivot about an upright axis defined by the elongation of the pivot pin. To permit accommodation of the support to various different circumstances, for instance to the possibility that the door might be somewhat shorter in height than its associated frame requires, or to permit a general positioning of the door within the frame in a desired relationship relative to the latter, these known pivotal supports are adjustable in that their pivot pin can be raised or lowered within certain defined limits.

However, although such adjustability exists in the pivotal supports known from the art, it is found that the adjustments are rather difficult to carry out which makes an unpleasant and time-consuming job out of a minor adjustment which should be capable of being effected in moments. Also, in some constructions known from the prior art there exists the danger that the frictional forces acting upon the pivotal support when the door supported by it is in use, will displace the pivotpin out ofthe position once selected for it. Of course, this problem has been overcome in some known constructions by providing arresting arrangements which prevent such displacement, usually in that they prevent turning of a component or components which are screw threaded and cooperate in such a manner that their turning effects raising or lowering of the pivot pin. However, in such cases the arresting arrangements necessary are quite complicated and make the manufacture and sale of the pivotal support considerably more expensive, aside from the fact that they further increase the difficulties in making necessary adjustments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages.

More particularly it is an object of the present invention to provide a pivotal support of the type under discussion which does not have these disadvantages.

Still more specifically it is an object of the present invention to provide such a pivotal support which is simple and inexpensive in its construction.

A concomitant object of the invention is to provide such a pivotal support wherein the pivot pin can be raised and lowered reliably and in a most simple manner, even under the most disadvantageous circumstances as concerns the location and accessibility of the support.

Still another object of the invention is to provide such a support which is protected in a simple and reliable manner against undersired displacement of the pivot pin out of the position which has once been selected and set.

In pursuance of the above objects, and others which will become apparent hereafter, one feature of the invention resides in a pivotal support, particularly as a hinge for use at the bottom of a door or analogous swingable element, which according to one embodiment comprises a stationary tubular guide member having an open end and a longitudinal axis and which is adapted for mounting with its axis vertically oriented and with the open end facing upwardly. A pivot pin is provided having an upper portion projecting upwardly of the open end for engaging and supporting a swingable element, an intermediate portion between the upper portion and the open end, and a lower portion accommodated within the guide member with limited freedom of axial displacement therein.

Retaining means retains the pivot 'pin against rotation with reference to the guide member. A downwardly open cap member has an upper section surrounding the intermediate portion of the pin, and a lower section surrounding the guide member. Cooperating screw threads on the intermediate portion and upper section permit rotation of the cap member with reference to the pivot pin with concomitant axial displacement of the latter with reference to the guide member.

In this construction, as will be clear, the pivot pin is prevented from rotating but is capable of performing axial movements in a sense raising or lowering it. Torque transmitted to the pivot pin when the swingable element associated therewith is moved between its various positions, will be directly transmitted to the guide member rather than via the screw-threaded means, whereby undersired displacement of the pivot pin from its once-selected position is avoided even under disadvantageous circumstances.

Furthermore, with the construction according to the present invention the cap member serving for displacing the pivot'pin axially will always be'maintained in its predetermined position with reference to the bottom of the swingable element and with reference to the elongation of the guide member, that is the cap member will not move upwardly or downwardly with reference to the guide member as does the pivot pin when adjustments are made. This guarantees that independently of the raised or lowered position chosen for the pivot pin, the cap member will always be located in one and the same position and always be readily accessible. Because of this the present construction does not require the pivotal support to be laterally offset from the downwardly directed bottom face of the door or other swingable element as is the case in certain known constructions where this is necessary in order to be able to have access to the support for adjusting purposes.

In an advantageous embodiment of the present invention the bottom face of the cap member will abut slot the mounting means-for instance the floor, the sill or the like-in which the guide member is mounted stationarily with its axis vertically oriented. However, it is also possible to have the cap member engage the upper end face of the tubular guide member so as to be axially supported thereby. A simple construction, simple manufacture and high reliability will be achieved if the lower end portion of the guide member which will normally be accommodated in an aperture of the mounting means, such as the floor, the sill or the like, is provided with an axially extending slot through which a pin extends inwardly and outwardly of the circumferential wall of the guide member, with its outward end being anchored in the mounting means while its inward end extends into an axial recess provided in the lower portion of the pivot pin and registering with the slot. Of course, it is possible to provide the mounting means with a similar slot and to have the outer end portion of the pin or retaining rod member also be located in this similar slot. In any case, this provides for a reliable retention of the pivot pin against rotation with reference to the guide member. Particularly if the lower end portion of the guide member is of circular outline, it will at the same time provide for a retention of the guide member itself against rotation.

According to a further concept of the invention the recess provided in the lower end portion of the pivot pin will terminate short of the downwardly directed lower end face of the latter so that an additionalfunction achieved by the retaining pin or retaining rod member will be to prevent undersired separation of the pivot pin from the guide member, for instance when the pivotal support is in storage or is being transported prior to its installation. Naturally, the manner in which the guide member maybe secured to its mounting means may vary. Advantageously, its lower end portion will have a smaller diameter than its upper portion and be externally threaded, being received in an opening for'this purpose in the mounting means, such as the floor, the door sill or the like. A retaining nut is then threaded onto this lower end portion from the underside of the mounting means whereas the shoulder provided on the guide member to the diameter differential engages the mounting means at the upper side and provides for reliable abutment in a simple manner, with the thus-mounted support being capable of carrying substantial loads.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a vertical section through a pivotal support according to the present invention, with portions of the associated swinging element and of the mounting means being also shown in vertical but fragmentary section for purposes of orientation;

FIG. 2 is a section taken on line IIII of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a side-elevational view of the pivotal support shown in FIG. 1, with portions of the associated swinging element and mounting means being shown for purposes of orientation in broken lines.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Discussing the drawing in detail it is pointed out that reference numeral 19 identifies part of a mounting means, for instance a floor door sill or the like, whereas upwardly spaced from the mounting means 19 is a swingable element which has been identified in toto with reference character E. This may be a door, a window or the like, but for purposes of the exemplary embodiment illustrated it will be discussed as a door.

The present invention is concerned exclusively with the illustrated pivotal support provided at the lower end of the elementor door E, and therefore no attempt has been made to illustrate corresponding pivot means provided at the upper end of the element E, such corresponding pivot means forming no part of the present invention and it being understood that it may be of any conventional type.

As the drawing clearly shows, the novel pivotal support according to the present invention comprises a tubular guide member having an upper open end and a longitudinal axis which is quite obviously vertically oriented. Mounted in it is a pivot pin having the portion 11 and the upper portion 12 which in the illustrated embodiment is a discrete portion and consists of synthetic plastic material. Evidently, it could consist of a different material, and it is clear that the head of the portion 12 also need not be of the illustrated hemispherical configuration. What is essential is that the head of the portion 12 be receivable in a correspondingly configurated recess ofa socket member 14 which is secured to the underside or bottom face of the element E, for instance in the illustrated manner by screws, or in any other suitable way. The element E and the socket member 14 rigid therewith can then turn with reference to the portion 12.

The guide member 10 has, as evident in the drawing, a center passage which is of circular cross section and extends from one to the other axial end of the guide member 10, although the axial end which in the operative position shown in the drawing is the lowermost one, could of course also be closed. The upper portion 15 of the guide member is of cylindrical configuration and is followed downwardly by a lower end portion 16 whose cross section is smaller than that of the portion 15 and which is provided with external threads 17. There is thus formed a shoulder at the juncture of the portions 15 and 16 and when the portion 16 is passed through an opening provided for this purpose in the support means 19, the shoulder will abut the upper side of the support means 19 as illustrated whereas a nut 18 can be threaded onto the portion 16 below the support means 19 into engagement with the latter, so that the guide member 10 is firmly and reliably secured to the means 19.

The lower end portion 16 is provided with an elongated slot elongated in axial direction of the guide member 10, and a retaining pin or retaining rod member 20 extends through this slot with its outer end portion projecting into a corresponding slot or groove 21 provided for this purpose in the means 19 whereas its inner end portion projects into a groove 22 provided in the portion 11 of the pivot pin, with this recess 22 being axially oriented with reference to the pivot pin and registering with the slot in the lower end portion 16. The groove 22 is provided in the portion 23 of the pin 11. It is closed in downward direction, that is it terminates short of the bottom end face of the portion 23 for the reasons pointed out earlier. Of course, the outer end portion of the pin 20 could be retained in and by the means 19 in another manner, instead of in a groove 21 as illustrated. The portion 23 has slight play in the bore or center passage of the guide member 10.

The portion 24 of the pin projects upwardly above the guide member 10 and has a greater thickness or diameter than the portion 23; it is also provided externally with the illustrated screw threads. To make the downwardly open cap member 13, whose internal screw threads mesh with the screw threads of the portion 24 as will be discussed, tum more stiffly with reference to the portion 24, it is possible to provide an inclusion 25 of desired usually rod-shaped configuration and which consists of elastically deformable synthetic plastic material received in a slight recess provided for this purpose. This is for instance known from so-called lock-nuts" where a similar expedient is utilized to prevent undesired separation of a nut from a bolt, for instance under the influence of vibratory movements.

As the drawing shows most clearly in FIG. 1, the downwardly open cap member 13 surrounds with its lower portion the portion 15 of the guide member 10, whereas its upper portion-which as illustrated has a smaller interior cross section than the lower portion-is internally tapped so as to mesh with the screw threads on the portion 24 of the pin 11, as illustrated and as already discussed. It is advantageous, and carried into effect in the illustrated embodiment, that the axial length of the different-diameter portions of the cap member 13 be so selected that the lower end face of the cap member 13 abuts against the mounting means 19 so that the latter supports the cap member 13. It is emphasized again, however, that it is also possible to have the cap member 13 supported by axial engagement with the upper open end face of the tubular guide member 10.

As shown in FIG. 3, at least the lower part of the outer circumferential surface of the cap member 13 is provided with engagement surfaces which define, for instance, a hexagonal profile, to permit ready engaging and turning of the cap member 13 with a suitable wrench or other applicable tool. It goes without saying that if the pin 11, 12 is to be adjusted axially, that is if it is to be either raised or lowered, it is merely necessary to turn the cap member 13 in one or the other direction. The axial position of the cap member 13 will not change as a result of such turning irrespective of what axial position the pin 11, 12 will assume. Rotational forces acting upon the pin l1, 12 as the element E swings about the pivot axis defined by the pivot pin 11, 12 in conjunction with the nonillustrated pivot at the upper end of the element E, are transmitted directly via the pin 11, 12 and the pin 20 to the guide member 10 which is in turn prevented from rotation by cooperation of the outer end portion of the pin 20 with the means 19. Thus, undesired changes in the once-selected axial position of the pivot pin are avoided.

Naturally, modifications of the illustrated exemplary embodiment are possible and fully within the scope of the present invention. To make this clear it is merely necessary to reiterate that the configuration of the head of the portion 12 and of the corresponding socket in the socket member 14, need not be hemispherical but could be of a different shape.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a pivotal support, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended l. A pivotal support, particularly a hinge for use at the bottom of a door or analogous swingable element, comprising a stationary tubular guide member having an open end and a longitudinal axis and being adapted for mounting with said axis vertically oriented and said open end facing upwardly; a pivot pin, including an upper portion projecting upwardly of said open end for engaging and supporting a swingable element, an intermediate portion between said upper portion and said open end, and a lower portion located within said guide member with limited freedom of axial displacement therein; retaining means retaining said pivot pin against rotation with reference to said guide member; a downwardly open cap member having an upper section surrounding said intermediate portion, and a lower section surrounding said guide member; and cooperating inner threads on said intermediate portion and upper section, rotation of said cap member resulting in axial displacement of said pivot pin with reference to said guide member.

2. A support as defined in claim 1; further comprising mounting means engaging a lower end portion of said guide member and mounting the latter stationarily; and wherein said lower section has a bottom face abutting against said mounting means.

3. A support as defined in claim 1; further comprising mounting means having an upwardly directed opening, said guide member having a lower end portion received and fastened in said opening; and wherein said retaining means comprises an axially elongated slot in said lower end portion, an axially elongated recess in said lower portion and registering with said slot, and a rod member extending through said slot and having an inner end portion extending into said recess and an outer end portion fixed with said mounting means.

4. A support as defined in claim 3, wherein at least said lower end portion is of circular cross section, and wherein said rod member extends at least substantially radially of said lower end portion.

5. A support as defined in claim 3, said lower portion of said pivot pin having a lower end face, and wherein said recess terminates short of said lower end face.

6. A support as defined in claim 1; further comprising mounting means having an upper and a lower side and being provided with an opening extending from one to the other of said sides; said guide member having an upper portion of larger cross section and a lower end portion of smaller cross section which extends through said opening from said upper to said lower side; external threads provided on said lower end portion; and nut means meshing with said threads at said lower side for retaining said guide member stationary.

7. A support as defined in claim 1, said intermediate portion and said lower portion being unitary; and wherein said upper portion of said pivot pin is connected with but consists of a material different from said intermediate portion.

. 8. A support as defined in claim 7, wherein said material of said upper portion is a synthetic plastic material.

9. A support as defined in claim 1, said upper portion having an upper free end of predetermined outline; and further comprising a socket adapted to be mounted on a swingable element to be supported and having a recess mating with and turnably receiving said upper free end of predetermined outline.

10. A support as defined in claim 9, said upper free end having a hemispherical outline, and said socket having a correspondingly shaped recess. 

1. A pivotal support, particularly a hinge for use at the bottom of a door or analogous swingable element, comprising a stationary tubular guide member having an open end and a longitudinal axis and being adapted for mounting with said axis vertically oriented and said open end facing upwardly; a pivot pin, including an upper portion projecting upwardly of said open end for engaging and supporting a swingable element, an intermediate portion between said upper portion and said open end, and a lower portion located within said guide member with limited freedom of axial displacement therein; retaining means retaining said pivot pin against rotation with reference to said guide member; a downwardly open cap member having an upper section surrounding said intermediate portion, and a lower section surrounding said guide member; and cooperating inner threads on said intermediate portion and upper section, rotation of said cap member resulting in axial displacement of said pivot pin with reference to said guide member.
 2. A support as defined in claim 1; further comprising mounting means engaging a lower end portion of said Guide member and mounting the latter stationarily; and wherein said lower section has a bottom face abutting against said mounting means.
 3. A support as defined in claim 1; further comprising mounting means having an upwardly directed opening, said guide member having a lower end portion received and fastened in said opening; and wherein said retaining means comprises an axially elongated slot in said lower end portion, an axially elongated recess in said lower portion and registering with said slot, and a rod member extending through said slot and having an inner end portion extending into said recess and an outer end portion fixed with said mounting means.
 4. A support as defined in claim 3, wherein at least said lower end portion is of circular cross section, and wherein said rod member extends at least substantially radially of said lower end portion.
 5. A support as defined in claim 3, said lower portion of said pivot pin having a lower end face, and wherein said recess terminates short of said lower end face.
 6. A support as defined in claim 1; further comprising mounting means having an upper and a lower side and being provided with an opening extending from one to the other of said sides; said guide member having an upper portion of larger cross section and a lower end portion of smaller cross section which extends through said opening from said upper to said lower side; external threads provided on said lower end portion; and nut means meshing with said threads at said lower side for retaining said guide member stationary.
 7. A support as defined in claim 1, said intermediate portion and said lower portion being unitary; and wherein said upper portion of said pivot pin is connected with but consists of a material different from said intermediate portion.
 8. A support as defined in claim 7, wherein said material of said upper portion is a synthetic plastic material.
 9. A support as defined in claim 1, said upper portion having an upper free end of predetermined outline; and further comprising a socket adapted to be mounted on a swingable element to be supported and having a recess mating with and turnably receiving said upper free end of predetermined outline.
 10. A support as defined in claim 9, said upper free end having a hemispherical outline, and said socket having a correspondingly shaped recess. 